My name is Tom Weddle, and I received my educational certificates and masters in special education from Northridge University in California. I have worked with and taught children and adults with autism for the past 28 years in a variety of settings. I have created and supervised adult programs, assessed and taught children with neurological disabilities in demonstration-site classrooms for the State Department of Education in California, taught in special and general education classrooms, and created home behavior therapy and management programs for young children with autism. For the last thirteen years, I have worked as a consultant for numerous school districts throughout Washington and Idaho, assessing children, training staff and helping to create appropriate curriculum and positive behavior support plans for children with autism. I am an advocate of non-aversive teaching and behavioral approaches with an emphasis on social, self-regulatory, and communicative skill development.
My specialties are assessment of developmental skills, functional analysis, parent/staff training and behavior coaching for children and adults with autism. I have extensive experience working in school, residential, vocational and home settings. I utilize a comprehensive assessment across skill domains and prescribe the use of specific strategies applied to specific skill deficits. For behavior problems, I conduct an ecologically based behavior assessment and correlate the results with skill, tolerance and developmental deficits to create a practical and effective teaching and management plan with realistic and functional outcomes. I am sensitive to the needs of providers, parents and educators, and I tailor my recommendations to fit the resources and settings whenever possible.
I have been published in several special education texts on communication and behavior and recently published a book, BIG A...little a: Building Worlds for Children with ASD. Please visit my linked web-pages for further information!
Also, please check out "My Friends' Pages" to learn more about the interests and thoughts of a select few of my friends. And visit "Website Wisdom" for some uniquely useful information.
Please feel free to go to my Q&A Blog to ask specific questions regarding autism and your own children or students.
Tom's Q&A Blog
